Red Rocks + Bishop 2025

This spring I took a spontaneous trip to Red Rocks + Bishop. My friend Jimmy was in Red Rocks for a conference and Jack and I have been meaning to check out Bishop, so it was a nice excuse to climb some classics, explore the West, and do some lite dirtbagging. I only took a couple days off of work, so the whole thing had big road-trip-energy; next time I’ll be extending my stay!

Red Rocks

I love the Red Rocks sandstone and especially enjoy the sporty mixed routes there — it also doesn't hurt that the grades, like the rocks, are very soft. If I were to do it again I would avoid the RR Campground. It's very loud, it's in a weird location, and generally has some bad Vegas-vibes.

Driving down through central Nevada

Heading up to Levitation 29. First alpine start of the year without skis on!

Coming up the first pitch. Kind of a heads-up warm-up!

Enjoying some spring sun and good climbing. Despite other climbers trying to warn us away, the temps were perfect. I think if there's enough wind there's nothing to fear (the high was maybe 75º with 10 mph winds).

Super fun route! I can see why it gets the hype, although it is certainly overhyped — there are lots of other great routes around!

I enjoyed this route: Only The Good Die Young. Won't repeat it soon but it was a nice half day.

Bishop

After a day of cragging at Calico, Jack and I headed west for some windy East Sierra hangs. I have been thinking of moving to Bishop for a long time so it was great to scope it out from that perspective. We had a fun half day at Owens and had Pine Creek all to ourselves. The temps were good and the views better. I could see myself here!

Somewhere between Vegas and the E Sierra.

Top 10 most beautiful landscapes!

Jack breaking hearts around Bishop

Owens! 😍

It's good to get (safely) humbled every now and then, and that's exactly what happened on this route. After glancing at the topo and overconfidently walking up this 5.7, I realized that x3 60m raps meant actual 60m raps not 60m rope. Whoops. Still, it's good to have the skills to escape with all your gear, and we successfully Reepschnur'd with just about every single thing we brought on the route! A memorable outing.

The long road home!